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MONTAGE – PEACE COMES TO STRADANYA
– Two long benchlike tables on either side of a diplomatic conference room, each side lined with men in suits and military uniforms. Down the middle of the room, the Mediatrix’s display tube slides on rails.
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Single panel: Claudia has been turned around, held in a few of the creature’s tentacles, facing headfirst into the opening of the creature’s feeding siphon. Claudia looks into it with her eyes open wide.
SUBTITLE (1): Magnified and enhanced drone footage.
Translation (1): Видеозапись с робота (увеличено).
It is with great pleasure that I can announce that my second appearance on Eddie the Axe’s Bloodybits Horror Show where Eddie, Tim Yobo, and I get to discuss David Cronenberg’s early body-horror entry Rabid. We had a lot of fun with this one (it’s always fun with those guys), discussing what body horror is, the continuing relevance of Sigmund Freud in interpreting horror, and how Marilyn Chambers turned out to be a far better actor than most people would have expected. You can listen to or find a place to download the entire episode on this page. Enjoy (but do pray that it doesn’t happen to you).
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INT. DEPUTY DIRECTOR RICHARDS’S OFFICE – DAY
The three men are sitting around the conference table again.
ARTHUR
So, Deputy Director, you think you’re actually going to try this?
RICHARDS
Everything else has failed, so why not?
ARTHUR
Why come to my client?
RICHARDS
We believe that this will work better for political reasons if the origins of the Mediatrix are themselves…obfuscated.
HARRY
Why?
RICHARDS
Think about it, Dr. Lal. Are people going to buy it if we tell them that the Mediatrix came from some sort of…weird monster thing that calls itself the Gynophage, possibly because it got to eat a woman? People won’t see past that. They’ll freak out, and that’s no good for the underlying politics of the situation.
HARRY
I can see that.
RICHARDS
Your people all sign non-disclosure agreements, right? And you can make them to honor them?
HARRY
If we have to, yes.
RICHARDS
So we’re asking you to give up credit about the Mediatrix and play dumb if anyone asks. We’ll put out the story that she’s the product of a U.S. Government artificial intelligence project.
HARRY
I can do that.
(turning to Arthur)
We can do that, right, Arthur?
ARTHUR
We can do that, Harry.
RICHARDS
(nodding)
Good man. Dr. Lal, to an even greater extent than before, you have the good will of your government behind you. And a favor to call in if you ever need it.
HARRY
Thank you, Deputy Director. And good luck.
RICHARDS
Thank you again, Dr. Lal.
Please do not reproduce this storyboard or its associated screenplay text without permission from Faustus, who may be contacted here.
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MONTAGE – THE TERRIBLE CONFLICT IN STRADANYA
– A statue in what was once a park of children holding hands in a circle and playing. The statue, though chipped in places is incongruously whole. Buildings in the vicinity are in flames.
(Note: the Mediatrix’s narration is a voice-over to this montage.)
MEDIATRIX (V.O.)
The conflict between Stradanya and its East Stradanian separatists is now entering its second decade. It has been marked by massacres, mass rape, the systematic destruction of cultural monuments and places of worship, and endless other atrocities. Over a million are believed to have died either directly in the conflict or through collateral hunger and epidemics it has unleashed. This conflict has served as a crucible of various communicable diseases and threatens now to draw in Stradanya’s more powerful neighbors, potentially creating a wider conflict or even a world war. It is imperative for the good of humanity that the conflict be brought to an end. I was created with a unique set of skills to help end the conflict.
back to scene
HARRY
(skeptically)
Really?
RICHARDS
We’ve been having our specialists interviewing her for some weeks now. She clearly is about as familiar with Stradanyan culture and history as any academic specialist. She speaks both West and East Stradanyan and the classical version of the language with native-level proficiency. She has as good an understanding of bargaining and international relations theory and diplomatic protocol as any specialist we can find.
MEDIATRIX
I believe that my intervention is the best hope for ending this conflict.
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